Desired Machines

Cinema and the World in Its Own Image

Bibliographic Data

ID4516341
AuthorsJosé Canales (0000-0002-3756-9802, Harvard University Press, corresponding author), Jimena Canales
Year2011
Volume24
Issue3
Pages329-359
Publication date2011-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScience in Context (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0269-8897 • E-ISSN: 1474-0664
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0269889711000147
PMID21995220
OpenAlexW1991809275
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited23

ArgumentIn 1895 when the Lumière brothers unveiled their cinematographic camera, many scientists were elated. Scientists hoped that the machine would fulfill a desire that had driven research for nearly half a century: that of capturing the world in its own image. But their elation was surprisingly short-lived, and many researchers quickly distanced themselves from the new medium. The cinematographic camera was soon split into two machines, one for recording and one for projecting, enabling it to further escape from the laboratory. The philosopher Henri Bergson joined scientists, such as Etienne-Jules Marey, who found problems with the new cinematographic order. Those who had worked to make the dream come true found that their efforts had been subverted. This essay focuses on the desire to build a cinematographic camera, with the purpose of elucidating how dreams and reality mix in the development of science and technology. It is about desired machines and their often unexpected results. The interplay between what "is" (the technical), what "ought" (the ethical), and what "could" be (the fantastical) drives scientific research

Argument (complex analysis · Cinema and Media Studies · Photography and Visual Culture · Visual Culture and Art Theory

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access